touring sweden

"ratfink" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic? Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous. Absolutely anything
would be helpful. regards

The E4 wasn't too busy when I did it in 1988 but that's not recent.

Make sure you take yourself off to bed/tent at a reasonable hour every
night, even if it's light in the midnight sun. You need your sleep and
can easily ride too long.

Shops and garages are spaced quite widely, so always carry 24 hours
worth of food and water. Fresh fuit is a rare treat in these parts; snap
it up and enjoy when you see it.

Make use of moist towellettes to keep your hands clean.

The local mosquito repellents are good; use them frequently.

Don't forget you can easily get sunburn north (and south) of the Arctic
Circle.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

On 1 Apr 2007 11:17:14 -0700

ratfink said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic? Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous. Absolutely anything
would be helpful. regards

What time of year? If you go for the summer weather, you get
big mozzies. Early summer will see a lot of water as the
snow melts. The other time with adequate daylight is round
about now-ish, when snowmelt won't yet have reached the north
and the higher ground that feeds the bigger rivers.

FWIW (and of course generalising), the mountains themselves are
pretty gentle and rolling: more like Scotland than the Alps
or the med.

--
not me guv

"I'm able-bodied. Why should I want a car?"

Quoted message said:

What time of year? If you go for the summer weather, you get
big mozzies. Early summer will see a lot of water as the
snow melts. The other time with adequate daylight is round
about now-ish, when snowmelt won't yet have reached the north
and the higher ground that feeds the bigger rivers.

FWIW (and of course generalising), the mountains themselves are
pretty gentle and rolling: more like Scotland than the Alps
or the med.

i am likely to leave the UK around the start of August. I know Finland
quite well but Sweden is a complete unknown. By then the mosquito
situation will hopefully be easing off.

ratfink said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic?

I drove up that road two years ago all the way to Narvik in north Norway Its
a beautiful route, I would say that the traffic density was at most 30% of
what you would expect in say France or Germany and less than that for a
comparable road in UK (Southern half).
Its a bloody long way though. Took me more that a day to get from Stockholm
to Luleå @ 80km/h

--

Geoff

ratfink said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic? Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous. Absolutely anything
would be helpful. regards

I'm going to cycle the opposite way in August, from Kiruna to Smygehuk
in the very south. Most of the way I'll be following road number 45
which is running from Gothenburg (on the west coast) all the way up to
the Finnish border (at Karesuando). There is much less traffic
compared to going along the E4 on which you are not even allowed to
cycle from Malmö well up north of Stockholm (even North of Uppsala).
If you want to cycle on the east side you need to get a good map and
do it on smaller roads.
Since you don't write it I assume you'll enter Sweden in Malmö, one
way of doing it is by following smaller roads to Gothenburg, then
follow road 45 for ~800miles before turning east towards Haparanda/
Tornio and the Finnish border, a good place to leave 45 would be
Arvidsjaur.

Quoted message said:

ratfink said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic? Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous. Absolutely anything
would be helpful. regards

I'm going to cycle the opposite way in August, from Kiruna to Smygehuk
in the very south. Most of the way I'll be following road number 45
which is running from Gothenburg (on the west coast) all the way up to
the Finnish border (at Karesuando). There is much less traffic
compared to going along the E4 on which you are not even allowed to
cycle from Malmö well up north of Stockholm (even North of Uppsala).
If you want to cycle on the east side you need to get a good map and
do it on smaller roads.
Since you don't write it I assume you'll enter Sweden in Malmö, one
way of doing it is by following smaller roads to Gothenburg, then
follow road 45 for ~800miles before turning east towards Haparanda/
Tornio and the Finnish border, a good place to leave 45 would be
Arvidsjaur.

Hey this is is great stuff - i am going from Gothenburg to Pudasjarvi
(near Oulu, Finland), so your route is a close fit. In fact, I know
Karesuando - I was there two winters ago.

Is route 45 much longer than the E4? Is it a tough one to cycle? The
distance is ambitious enough for me - I dont want to be climbing the
Alps on a daily basis.

ratfink said:

Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden.

The highways, ( where north/southbound have separate roads) are off-limits to bikes and other slow vehicles, so you need to stay on smaller roads.
If you manage to avoid roads with names like E4, E20, E18 etc you're home free. Usually there is an older, twistier road that runs more or less parallell with the newer wide E-something available.

ratfink said:

... Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic?

I don't think traffic will be an actual problem in practical terms, although it can be a bit intimidating when the big trucks thunders past.

ratfink said:

... Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous.

Although there are a number of decent hills it's not really mountainous to any larger extent. Sweden's highest mountain is 2104 metres and it's quite far away from any public roads!

Besides, Sweden isn't exactly crowded. Once you get north of Gävle towns of size are quite widely spaced, and if you turn inland they'll turn outright sparse. Plan ahead if you choose to travel there.

ratfink said:

...Absolutely anything
would be helpful.

There IS a suggested bike route available that's mapped and partially signposted called "Sverigeleden". A quick google didn't turn up anything in English, but maybe you'll have more luck. Otherwise it doesn't take too much to figure out start-stop and distances. Might be a good place to start.

ratfink said:

Quoted message said:

On Apr 1, 7:17 pm, "ratfink" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hi all - i'm planning to cycle from the UK to Finnish Lapland via
Sweden. Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden. For
example: Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic? Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous. Absolutely anything
would be helpful. regards

Quoted message said:

I'm going to cycle the opposite way in August, from Kiruna to Smygehuk
in the very south. Most of the way I'll be following road number 45
which is running from Gothenburg (on the west coast) all the way up to
the Finnish border (at Karesuando). There is much less traffic
compared to going along the E4 on which you are not even allowed to
cycle from Malmö well up north of Stockholm (even North of Uppsala).
If you want to cycle on the east side you need to get a good map and
do it on smaller roads.
Since you don't write it I assume you'll enter Sweden in Malmö, one
way of doing it is by following smaller roads to Gothenburg, then
follow road 45 for ~800miles before turning east towards Haparanda/
Tornio and the Finnish border, a good place to leave 45 would be
Arvidsjaur.

Hey this is is great stuff - i am going from Gothenburg to Pudasjarvi
(near Oulu, Finland), so your route is a close fit. In fact, I know
Karesuando - I was there two winters ago.

Is route 45 much longer than the E4? Is it a tough one to cycle? The
distance is ambitious enough for me - I dont want to be climbing the
Alps on a daily basis.

The distance is about the same, if anything route 45 is shorter. The
route does not go over the mountains in the west, I think the highest
point is just over 500 meters somewhere in the middle, maybe between
Mora and Sveg. Of course it's hilly most of the way but nothing like
the Alps.

dabac <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Besides, Sweden isn't exactly crowded. Once you get north of Gävle
towns of size are quite widely spaced, and if you turn inland they'll
turn outright sparse. Plan ahead if you choose to travel there.

Gävle was the smelliest town I ever traversed...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Gävle was the smelliest town I ever traversed...

Why - sugar beet/pet food (or worse) factory?!?

ratfink said:

...
Is route 45 much longer than the E4?

Don't ride the E4! It's off limits to bikes. (ignoring the obvious risks of being an unexpected item along a high speed road) Bikers are often met by aggressive behaviour from motorists, and the police will pick you off the road.

Andrew Price <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 2 Apr 2007 17:08:26 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Gävle was the smelliest town I ever traversed...

Quoted message said:

Why - sugar beet/pet food (or worse) factory?!?

Some sort of wood/paper processing. Horrid!

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

dabac <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

ratfink said:

...
Is route 45 much longer than the E4?

Quoted message said:

*Don't ride the E4!* It's off limits to bikes. (ignoring the obvious
risks of being an unexpected item along a high speed road) Bikers are
often met by aggressive behaviour from motorists, and the police *will*
pick you off the road.

They must have 'upgraded' it since I was there :-(

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

On 2 Apr, 16:02, dabac <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

ratfink Wrote:> Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden.

The highways, ( where north/southbound have separate roads) are
off-limits to bikes and other slow vehicles, so you need to stay on
smaller roads.
If you manage to avoid roads with names like E4, E20, E18 etc you're
home free. Usually there is an older, twistier road that runs more or
less parallell with the newer wide E-something available.

ratfink Wrote:> ... Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic?

I don't think traffic will be an actual problem in practical terms,
although it can be a bit intimidating when the big trucks thunders
past.

ratfink said:

... Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous.

Although there are a number of decent hills it's not really mountainous
to any larger extent. Sweden's highest mountain is 2104 metres and it's
quite far away from any public roads!

Besides, Sweden isn't exactly crowded. Once you get north of Gävle
towns of size are quite widely spaced, and if you turn inland they'll
turn outright sparse. Plan ahead if you choose to travel there.

ratfink Wrote:> ...Absolutely anything

Quoted message said:

would be helpful.

There IS a suggested bike route available that's mapped and partially
signposted called "Sverigeleden". A quick google didn't turn up
anything in English, but maybe you'll have more luck. Otherwise it
doesn't take too much to figure out start-stop and distances. Might be
a good place to start.

--
dabac

Aparrently the Sverigeleden runs from Karesuando on the northern
border to Smygehuk in the south, possibly via Gothenburg (I could be
wrong). Even the Swedes says "it's difficult to find information about
this trail on the Internet". Anyone got more on this?

ratfink said:

On 2 Apr, 16:02, dabac <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

ratfink Wrote:> Does anyone have any tips regarding the roads in Sweden.

Quoted message said:

The highways, ( where north/southbound have separate roads) are
off-limits to bikes and other slow vehicles, so you need to stay on
smaller roads.
If you manage to avoid roads with names like E4, E20, E18 etc you're
home free. Usually there is an older, twistier road that runs more or
less parallell with the newer wide E-something available.

Quoted message said:

ratfink Wrote:> ... Is the (eastern) coastaI road awash with traffic?

Quoted message said:

I don't think traffic will be an actual problem in practical terms,
although it can be a bit intimidating when the big trucks thunders
past.

Quoted message said:

ratfink Wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

... Is there a
better upland route that's not too mountainous.

Quoted message said:

Although there are a number of decent hills it's not really mountainous
to any larger extent. Sweden's highest mountain is 2104 metres and it's
quite far away from any public roads!

Quoted message said:

Besides, Sweden isn't exactly crowded. Once you get north of Gävle
towns of size are quite widely spaced, and if you turn inland they'll
turn outright sparse. Plan ahead if you choose to travel there.

Quoted message said:

ratfink Wrote:> ...Absolutely anything

Quoted message said:

would be helpful.

Quoted message said:

There IS a suggested bike route available that's mapped and partially
signposted called "Sverigeleden". A quick google didn't turn up
anything in English, but maybe you'll have more luck. Otherwise it
doesn't take too much to figure out start-stop and distances. Might be
a good place to start.

Quoted message said:

--
dabac

Aparrently the Sverigeleden runs from Karesuando on the northern
border to Smygehuk in the south, possibly via Gothenburg (I could be
wrong). Even the Swedes says "it's difficult to find information about
this trail on the Internet". Anyone got more on this?

Sverigeleden's main route is from Karesuando to Helsingborg but there
are lots and lots of branches going to most bigger places. Information
is very hard to find on the Internet. There are three books published,
unfortunately they are in Swedish but I think there is some kind of
supplement in English. I was toying with the idea of following this
route but decided not to since following the same road for almost 1000
miles makes map reading easy. I might follow parts of Sverigeleden
from Gothenburgto Smygehuk but almost certainly unintentionally.

ratfink said:

Aparrently the Sverigeleden runs from Karesuando on the northern
border to Smygehuk in the south, possibly via Gothenburg (I could be
wrong). Even the Swedes says "it's difficult to find information about
this trail on the Internet". Anyone got more on this?

You find bits of info easily enough, but something comprehensive, like "I rode this and experienced that" (and in English!) doesn't seem to be available.
I did find this: though. On page 2 there are what they call info-folders, and on pg 3 you find the real stuff, no.0601-0603.

Here: is another link that at least can lead you to an email address to the people who should be able to answer your questions.

Andrew Price said:

On Mon, 2 Apr 2007 17:08:26 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht

Quoted message said:

Gävle was the smelliest town I ever traversed...

Why - sugar beet/pet food (or worse) factory?!?

I think this paper mill might be the biggest culprit. But if memory serves me right you can also find producers of the rather pungent regional delicacy fermented herring hereabouts. The latter, by volume, a far worse source of stink than just about any industrial process.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

dabac <[email hidden]>typed
They must have 'upgraded' it since I was there :-(

Well, it's not like it's physically impossible to ride the E-somethings by bicycle, and if the police are having a bad day it might be a while before you receive their personal attention.
But you will get mentioned in radio alerts and "righteous" motorists are likely to honk their horn and maybe even swipe at you.

dabac <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

dabac <[email hidden]>typed
They must have 'upgraded' it since I was there :-(

Quoted message said:

Well, it's not like it's physically impossible to ride the E-somethings
by bicycle, and if the police are having a bad day it might be a while
before you receive their personal attention.
But you will get mentioned in radio alerts and "righteous" motorists
are likely to honk their horn and maybe even swipe at you.

It only looks like a motorway on short stretches of my admittedly
ancient AutoRoute but doesn't appear to be a motorway on Google Earth
either.

The motorists were OK. I did get buzzed by an aeroplane and honked by a
train when I was on the E10 in the far North though...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.